Rivermen lose goaltending duel to Rampage, 2-1

Saturday

Feb 25, 2012 at 12:01 AMFeb 25, 2012 at 12:01 AM

The Peoria Rivermen put on their throwback jerseys, while Dov Grumet-Morris and Ben Bishop put on an old-fashioned goaltending duel Friday.

Grumet-Morris continued his dominance at Carver Arena, running his shutout sequence against the Rivermen here to 178 minutes, 9 seconds, to lead the San Antonio Rampage to a 2-1 victory over AHL All-Star Bishop and the Rivermen before 4,446.

The Rivermen swarmed Grumet-Morris -- who shut out Peoria twice here while with Manitoba in 2006-07 -- with 21 shots in the second period, including a key five-on-three power play, but could not solve him until it was too late.

Dave Eminian

The Peoria Rivermen put on their throwback jerseys, while Dov Grumet-Morris and Ben Bishop put on an old-fashioned goaltending duel Friday.

Grumet-Morris continued his dominance at Carver Arena, running his shutout sequence against the Rivermen here to 178 minutes, 9 seconds, to lead the San Antonio Rampage to a 2-1 victory over AHL All-Star Bishop and the Rivermen before 4,446.

The Rivermen swarmed Grumet-Morris -- who shut out Peoria twice here while with Manitoba in 2006-07 -- with 21 shots in the second period, including a key five-on-three power play, but could not solve him until it was too late.

San Antonio slipped into the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoff picture, while Peoria dropped to No. 7 and Abbotsford remained at No. 8.

Peoria winger Derek Nesbitt's drive from the right circle at 18:09 of the third period got the Rivermen on the board and closed to within 2-1. It was Nesbitt's 20th goal of the season, a career-high for him in the AHL.

"There were a couple one-timers during that game where I saw some openings, and I kept it in mind and hoped for another chance," Nesbitt said. "We saw some things that maybe we can take with us into the next game.

"Again, we came on strong in the second and third periods, but we've got to find a way to make those first periods better for us."

Outside the San Antonio locker room, Grumet-Morris stood with pads still on, wearing a black cowboy hat presented by the team for playing the hero's role.

"This is my barn here, I guess," said the Harvard University grad, grinning. "I didn't know the numbers involved in the shutout sequence, but those games were spread out over 5 years and were with a very good Manitoba team, so I'm not sure they mean a lot.

"It's more coincidence than anything. Ben Bishop was great for them tonight. He out-played me, kept them in it, just had to face too many good scoring chances from us."

San Antonio settled for a 1-0 lead on a first-period goal from Greg Rallo.

Bishop robbed San Antonio goalscoring leader Bill Thomas on a breakaway at 10:40, and two minutes later stopped Scott Timmins on a two-on-one break when he thrust out his right pad to kick a shot away, and ended up on his belly.

The Rivermen had a chance to turn the game five minutes into the second period when they earned a five-on-three power play for 1:31, but could not convert against San Antonio's No. 26-ranked kill unit.

Phil McRae had an open net from the right circle but hit the right post, and Peoria swarmed Grumet-Morris with 11 shots in the next four minutes after those power plays were erased.

Bishop stopped Thomas with his left pad on a breakaway from center ice 4:12 into the third period, then robbed Evan Barlow on an uncontested backhander from below the left hashmarks at 11:20.

The Rivermen were gearing for a final push late in the third period, but Timmins went uncovered near the bottom of the right circle and sent a shot inside the right post for a 2-0 lead at 17:51.

Nesbitt's drive followed 18 seconds later to make it 2-1, and Bishop exited for an extra attacker but Peoria could not avoid just its fourth loss in 13 games.

RIVER READINGS: The Rivermen lost defenseman Ian Cole to call-up by the St. Louis Blues on Friday morning. The Blues, on a six-game road trip, sent defenseman Kris Russell home to St. Louis with concussion-type symptoms after their game Thursday. ... Rivermen veteran winger Jonathan Cheechoo returned to the lineup after missing four games with an upper body injury suffered when he was hit from behind during a game in Milwaukee. ... The Rampage are 6-4-1 all-time in games at Carver Arena played during their annual Rodeo Road Trip. ... St. Louis Blues assistant general manager, director of pro scouting and Rivermen GM Kevin McDonald was in attendance. ... Former Blues and Rivermen head coach Davis Payne, now a pro scout for St. Louis, was on hand as well. ... NHL scouts Dirk Graham (San Jose) and Neil Komadoski (Vancouver) were in the house.

Dave Eminian covers the Rivermen for the Journal Star. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.